“So this is the Papal Temple.”
At Cain’s admiring words, Arundel nodded in agreement.
True to its name, the Papal Temple was a majestic and dignified place.
The large white pillars firmly supported the entrance, and the ivy and moss showing traces of time added a sense of solemnity.
At the very top of the entrance, there was a decoration of gold laurel leaves. The place, where splendor and solemnity harmoniously blended, was so beautiful that it made one’s mouth drop open.
Following the long lobby, an elderly man with a somewhat familiar face walked out. It was the Pope.
“Your Majesty, it’s an honor to see you.”
The Pope bowed to Zion with a kind smile. He also greeted Arundel, who was standing next to him, in the same way.
He had a somewhat emotional look on his face.
“It’s truly an honor that you’ve come.”
“We promised, so of course we came.”
Arundel replied with a slight smile. The Pope made an admiring sound and wore a burdensome expression.
She was smiling, but the Pope was still really a burden. She still had to be on guard because she didn’t know if he had really discovered her identity.
Ha ha, when Arundel was laughing awkwardly, Lucas interrupted.
“We also came together.”
At Lucas’s words, the Pope’s gaze reached the priests who had come together.
“Ah, I see. You’ve worked hard, High Priest Lucas. But…”
“We met on the way.”
Lucas cut off the Pope’s words with a broad smile.
He didn’t speak to anyone during the journey. Occasionally, when their eyes met, he would smile at Arundel.
Thanks to that, they were able to reach the Papal Temple peacefully, and no problems arose during the journey.
The Pope spoke in a gentle voice, as if pleased.
“It seems like fate.”
“I think so too. If the Pope hadn’t personally called us here, we wouldn’t have had this encounter.”
Lucas’s words were somewhat meaningful.
He was smiling as usual, but there was a strange discomfort in his tone. It sounded as if… he was mocking.
“Haha, you must have had a hard time coming here, let me guide you to a place to rest.”
The Pope smoothly changed the subject. He hurriedly guided Arundel’s group.
Arundel glanced at Lucas, but he didn’t say anything else.
As they felt at the entrance, the scale of the Papal Temple was large. There were guest rooms inside, and Arundel and Zion were each guided to different guest rooms.
A priest came running and left a small bell for Arundel, saying to call him anytime if she needed anything.
‘Hmm.’
Arundel picked up the bell and rang it lightly. The sound was not loud, but it was quite cheerful and clear, which startled her for a moment.
Not long after, the priest from earlier appeared.
“What can I do for you, Your Majesty the Empress?”
“I want to look around inside, can I walk around?”
“Of course. I will guide you.”
“No, I want to look around alone.”
After all, the temple was a safe place, so there was no need to accompany anyone.
At first, she thought about looking around with Zion, but she quickly gave up on the idea.
After spending the night with Zion, it was hard to keep being conscious of him. Fortunately, after that, the weakest Cain also boarded the carriage, and there were few times when only Zion and her were together.
Even when they were alone, Zion was the same as usual.
But Arundel was not the same. Every time their eyes met, her heart was uneasy.
She spent the night with him as if enchanted. She didn’t regret it. She certainly had a fascinating night that she had never had before, and she learned about his newfound great strength…
And his feelings.
‘Zion is in love with me.’
She didn’t know when it started, or what triggered it. But the deep feelings that he couldn’t hide from her strongly resonated with Arundel.
She had wondered if she might have misinterpreted it. But in the end, the conclusion of her thoughts was the same.
The look in his eyes, his expression, his gestures, each one of them echoed his voice.
He’s in love.
“Sigh.”
Arundel sighed alone.
It wasn’t something she could avoid, but she hadn’t decided how to deal with him yet. So she still wanted to avoid being alone as much as possible.
‘By the way, where did Hills go?’
She hadn’t seen him since earlier. The group had split up when they were assigned rooms, but she hadn’t seen him even before that.
‘Is the temple too much for him?’
She was seriously worried that he might have an accident somewhere, but she decided to wait and trust him because he had followed her all the way to the Papal Temple despite her worries.
Arundel set out on her own.
From the moment she entered the temple, it was a truly serene and beautiful place. It felt more heavenly than heaven itself.
She moved her steps as her heart led her. The chirping of birds was sweet in her ears, and it felt like this place could really be heaven. Arundel savored this moment.
After about 10 minutes of walking, she arrived at a place where a large statue was placed. The statue standing tall among the well-managed uniform grasses caught her eye.
Arundel squinted her eyes and glared at the statue.
‘Mannhei…’
“That’s Lord Mannheim, isn’t it?”
At the calm voice coming from behind, Arundel turned her head.
“Lucas.”
“His Majesty said only during the journey, so it’s okay to talk now, right?”
Lucas spoke with a playful voice, squinting his eyes. Arundel frowned and asked.
“This statue is Mannheim?”
“Yes. Of course, it’s just imagination because I’ve never seen it in real life.”
As Lucas said, Mannheim did not look like that.
In fact, appearance didn’t mean much to her, and the appearance she usually had changed from moment to moment.
The reason she guessed that the statue was Mannheim was because there was no other statue that would be erected in such a place.
“Isn’t it us priests who want to get closer to him like this? Wanting to resemble him, wanting to hear his voice.”
Lucas’s expression looked somewhat desolate.
Arundel felt a twinge of guilt at that moment. She had felt a twinge of guilt when she found out that they were priests of the Elbis Temple.
Now she doesn’t have time to care about anyone because her nose is three inches long… Honestly, it wasn’t much different even when she was an archangel.
(t/n: Three inches long=This means that you have no time to help others because your situation or the problem you need to solve is so urgent that you have no time to wipe your nose even if you have three feet of snot)
The main task of the archangel was to maintain the balance of the world.
Maintaining balance was not a grand thing.
Good and evil oppose each other and constitute the world. It’s not that everyone is happy without demons, nor that demons rule the world without angels.
Just as there is balance in everything, so is heaven and hell. But only heaven thinks about balance, and the ignorant hell guys always tried to break that balance.
In conclusion, the main task of the archangels is to fight against demons and balance them.
So, like other angels, there were countless times when she couldn’t leisurely visit her temple and deliver a beautiful voice.
Now she regretted that she had done so then.
If she had known that there were such fervent believers, she would have been more proactive in managing the temple.
But as if nothing happened, Lucas, who had hidden his dark expression, was the usual a kind and faithful believer.
Arundel asked Lucas.
“What about Lucas? Do you want to resemble Archangel Arundel and hear its voice?”
At Arundel’s question, Lucas’s expression became serious for a moment.
“No.”
At the unexpected answer, Arundel’s heart sank for a moment.
Was it because of the influence of the vacancy? But she understands enough. The vague belief in a leader who does not respond will eventually fade.
“I see. You don’t want to get close.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to get close, but that I can’t. It’s our destiny, to simply follow and want to resemble. How can we humble humans get close?”
At Lucas’s solemn voice, Arundel stiffened for a moment. Her heart ached, and she felt choked.
‘These guys…’
As Arundel looked at Lucas with moved eyes, she hesitated a little, but then he opened his mouth.
“But there’s something I’m sorry for.”
At his solemn voice, which seemed like a confession, Arundel listened carefully.
“When Your Majesty swung the spear earlier, and when you used the divine power,”
At the embarrassing story, Arundel paused for a moment. Arundel was reflected in Lucas’s pupils.
“It felt like Arundel was incarnated.”
For a moment, Arundel felt as if Lucas’s pupils had pierced her inner self. Of course, it must be a feeling.
Arundel cleared her throat and answered.
“It’s an honor. That it overlapped with Arundel.”
It was quite embarrassing to say this herself, but there was no other choice now.
“Of course, I know it’s not. But it’s very surprising. I’ve never seen anyone use such a spear technique. If it’s not rude, can I hear where you learned it?”
Lucas asked politely with a smile.
Arundel scratched her head and quickly composed the story.
“In our family, we teach spear techniques to women too. Like self-defense…?”
“Excellent teaching.”
He agreed without any doubt, but another attack followed.
“And it’s the first time I’ve heard that Your Majesty uses divine power. There are occasionally ordinary people who are born with divine power, but there was no one who used such high-purity divine power.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t really want to talk about divine power.”
Arundel solemnly silenced Lucas.
In fact, she had nothing to say. Her creativity for the day had reached its limit. She didn’t have the confidence to make up the circumstances that led her to use divine power.
And on reflection, she realized that she was in the position of the empress, and she didn’t have to answer all of Lucas’s questions.
Fortunately, it seemed that Lucas thought the same.
“If I was rude, I apologize. I guess my curiosity got the better of me.”
Why go that far…
Feeling guilty for responding so seriously to his question, Arundel hurriedly grabbed Lucas’s hand.
Her apology for everything so far was also included in it.
“Lucas. I value my relationships with people very much. It must be fate that we met like this.”
Lucas was not looking at Arundel. He was quietly staring at the hand that was caught.
Arundel found him a bit strange, but she continued to speak firmly.
“So I hope we get along well while we’re here. If there’s anything I can help you with, please let me know anytime.”
Lucas slowly nodded as if he had heard. But his eyes looked a bit blank.
It wasn’t the look of emotion or ecstasy he had in the restaurant.
When Arundel let go of his hand, his hand obediently moved away.
“Then see you next time. I’ll be going now.”
She smiled slightly, said goodbye, and walked past Lucas.
Until Arundel’s footsteps were no longer audible, Lucas stood in place, staring blankly at his hand.
When he finally took his eyes off his hand, Lucas’s gaze turned to the statue of Mannheim.
“…Are you testing me?”
